“Turning a new page.” He said with a shrug before taking in my pink flannel pyjamas, “are you going to wear that on our date?”
“It’s a date?” I said, more embarrassed at that idea than him seeing me with pink kitties all over my clothes.
“Well, if date implies two friends go somewhere alone to do something together and ignore everyone else? Yup, it’s a date.”
“Okay...” I said, eyeing him with curiosity. He was still acting so strange, so different from all the different ‘Griffins’ I had met. “Let me go and get changed.”
“Stay comfy,” he suggested as I started away.
“Well, I don’t plan on going in my pyjamas.”
“No,” he laughed, “but something like workout clothes would be fine.”
I hadn’t worked out a day in my life. What did that mean? Track pants? Gosh no. I tried to imagine what Savannah would wear and failing to think of something, I quickly wasted two precious minutes searching on my computer for something suitable. Something called yoga pants seemed to be acceptable; girls wore them mostly when they weren’t working out. Worked for me.
Thinking about the outfit I had found online as hard as I could I opened the closet and grinned as I pulled out the exact items that were flashing on the screen to my left. Pulling them on quickly I tugged my hair into a braided ponytail on the back of my head as I left my bedroom and rejoined Griffin.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He said with a nod, boldly taking my hand. My stomach coiled with heat and flutters as I let him, instantly forgetting how strange this behaviour was. He must like me: holding my hand, calling it a date and telling me he would’ve been hurt if I had been harmed last night... I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling too much as I glanced up at him and carried on.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?”
“We’re going to figure out your Goddess together.” I arched an eyebrow at him in disbelief. I didn’t mean to, but I had tried everything I could think of to figure her out myself and he thought he could do it in a solitary afternoon? The thought made me scoff.
“Okay.” I said, hoping my tone didn’t betray my thoughts as we walked. Griffin, if he noticed, simply grinned down at me and led me through a door that took me into a room set up with padding everywhere.
“Are you going to beat me up now?” I asked innocently, turning to look up at him.
“It’s just a gym. We’re going to work on your powers.”
“Powers.” I said incredulously. Sure, I had finally managed to wrap my mind around the fact that Gods, being a plural word, existed and it wasn’t just one singular Almighty Lord like I had been taught by my parents. But powers was a whole new realm of disbelief. Especially because I had never done anything to indicate I could use magic – unless you counted the mountain itself.
“Yeah, Atlas took the Olympians aside a few days ago and taught us how to use our powers. So I thought maybe I’d do the same with you.” All I could do was nod; I was still trying to figure out how this was going to help my Goddess manifest herself.
“Okay, stand there.” Griffin took his hand out of mine and set it instead on my shoulders and squaring me in the middle of the room. I watched with curiosity as he moved around the room, finding a chair from against the wall and brought it in front of me. “I want you to concentrate on the chair and think about moving it.”
I stared at him incredulously before looking down at the chair and then back up at him. “Why don’t you do it first?” I knew if I stood there squinting at a chair I was going to do nothing but look like an idiot, so maybe watching him would give me an idea of what I needed to do.
“Okay.” He turned himself slightly to the chair, rolled his shoulders back and I had to suppress a grin as his brow furrowed. For a long time we both stood there, Griffin hoping for the chair to move and me doubtful that it would. Then, it shuddered.
“Whoa!” I stepped back in surprise, eyes widening. It wasn’t much but we had both seen it convulse, and then, it flew across the room. “Oh my gosh!” I jumped back further and turned to Griffin with a shocked look on my face.
“Easy.” He said with a shrug, moving to the chair to grab it again.
“Says you: who knows who his God is. I won’t be able to do that.”
He shrugged again, “just try it.”
Reluctant to agree, but not wanting to disappoint, I stepped forward again and rolled my shoulders back like he had before starting to concentrate. It was a hard thing to do without letting my mind wander – which it did frequently – and the room seemed to get hotter the longer I just stood in place staring at this chair that did nothing. Beads of perspiration painted my brow the harder I concentrated but still nothing happened.
I didn’t know how long it had been before I sighed, overly dramatic, and turned to look at Griffin, holding my hands up as if to say ‘what did you expect?’.
“Well, it was worth a shot.” He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket, dumped one of the sticks out into his hand and stuffed the container away again.
“That’s it?” I said with bemusement, watching him light the cigarette before shrugging at me.
“It was an excuse.”
“An excuse for what?”
“To hang out with you.” I couldn’t stop the small grin that took over my face then before trying to straighten my features out again.
“You wanted to hang out with me?”
“Yeah, I spent all night thinking about what you’d said to me and you’re right. I need to try a little harder, so here I am.” He finished speaking by blowing a steady stream of smoke out, making me dodge it slightly as my nose turned up at the smell. I smiled though, because I couldn’t think of another person who had listened to my advice let alone gone for it. It made me feel special.
“Well, I appreciate it. But I don’t see why I’m the one you chose to receive all this new attention. Didn’t I say you had to extend the apology to Savannah and Aidan?” I asked with an arched brow.
Griffin took another slow drag, enjoying the nicotine for a moment before blowing it out with a nod. “Yeah, well, I owe you an apology too. And I’ve already extended my white flag to their royal majesties.”
“Oh?” I tried not to show my interest, it was after all none of my business, but Griffin saw right through my cool exterior.
“Yeah… I offered the club up for another party, lights on this time, as a celebration of the happy couple.” He finished off the cigarette and before my eyes it disappeared.
“Why do you smoke those?” I asked finally, looking back up from his fingertips to his face.
He shrugged, “habit I guess. Doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m immortal so it’s not like my lungs are going to rot out of my body.”
“I guess that’s true.” I said softly before changing the subject back, “well, the offer was kind of you. When’s the party?”
“Tonight, naturally. We’re immortal but why wait? They love a good excuse to get drunk and lose their inhibitions.” No doubt he was right about that. “Would you like to come with me?”
I looked up at him in surprise, unable to stop the grin from appearing on my face, “sure. I’d like that.”
He nodded and stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets again, “cool. That’s good, I mean. Thanks.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the next question I was going to ask. It was bold but I was feeling brave after last night’s adventure.
“Is that a real date or just another thing that we’re calling a date?” My teeth ran over the flesh of my bottom lip nervously as he looked back over at me thoughtfully.
For a moment we were caught in the moment, nervousness crackling around us when he finally spoke again, “a real date.”
My stomach flipped with butterflies and I nodded, “cool.” I said, trying to sound cool when I was anything but.
“Would you like to try moving the chair again?” He nodded at the chair and I glance
d at it before shrugging my shoulders.
“I doubt it’ll do anything. Atlas said my Goddess doesn’t want to be awakened so I doubt she would give me anything to make the process easy.”
“A Goddess who doesn’t want to come out and play...” He grabbed the back of the chair and returned it to the wall once more. “I wonder why, it’s so much fun.” His tone was sarcastic and I knew now he was probably thinking about how he wished Hades had kept to himself too.
“This isn’t easy either.” I said simply, “I feel sometimes like I don’t belong because I don’t really have a Goddess. Everyone else knows his or hers; and then there’s me. It’s almost embarrassing.” I looked up at him, feeling bad instantly that I was laying all my worries on him. I smiled, changing the course of the conversation. “So, if you figure out why she’s hiding could you let me know?” I teased as Griffin smiled back at me, coming over.
“Sure thing.” He seemed nervous again as he stood there in front of me, floundering for a conversation topic of some kind. “So, Val, Valentina...” I smiled slightly, “would you like, would it be okay if...” He chuckled with embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck, “can I make dinner for you tonight?”
“Are you really going to cook or are you going to conjure it up from imagination?” I teased, trying to ease his anxiety.
He laughed, and it worked as he grew more comfortable again, “chef’s secret.” He winked and then waited for my response. But I was spinning, caught in a whirlwind of emotions.
He really did like me, or at least liked me enough to want to take me on a proper date. I’d never been on one of those; I was excited. Immediately I wanted to go see Savannah to ask for her help, but then I remembered how she had treated Griffin just last night when we had been talking. Perhaps it hadn’t been long enough since he’d waved the white flag to ask for her help.
Things changed quickly here but I doubted they changed that quickly. Whether or not Griffin had been in charge of his faculties when Hades had tried to force himself on her didn’t matter. She hated him, for now, and it made Griffin feel like he was virtually unforgivable. Nevertheless, he was still trying, for me.
When I looked back up, Griffin was still standing there hoping for a response so I finally nodded to let him off the hook.
“I would love for you to make me dinner, but only if you promise to eat it with me.” I winked and hoped my excitement wasn’t entirely written on my face and my flirting wasn't awkward.
“Phew, I was worried for a second.” He seemed to be catching on comfortably though as he teased me back. I grinned and shrugged, feeling a lot cooler at this than I had thought I would be. “If I come get you at six, would that be okay?”
“Alright, I can do six. What time is it now?”
Griffin shrugged, holding up a bare wrist for me to see before I glanced around the room. Well, it couldn’t be that late. Then again, I really didn’t have any sense of time in this place.
“I better go get ready none the less.” A part of me didn’t want to leave him just yet, but I was also buzzing with excitement. It felt like I was ready to boil over and I could only imagine how embarrassing that would be if Griffin were to witness it.
“How long does it take you to get ready?” Griffin asked with interest.
“A lady never reveals her secrets.” I flashed him a cheeky grin before turning to the door, “but long enough that I’m presentable.” I said with a shrug as I walked.
“I think you’re always presentable.” He shouted back at me as I left. I wanted to turn back and look at him but I suspected Savannah would’ve told me to keep walking, to create some kind of air of mystery. Even if I didn’t have any airs whatsoever.
I felt flushed as soon as I left the training room. Pausing for a moment in the hallway I pressed my fingers against my cheeks to cool them down before turning and heading for the next door.
I had a date tonight. I had a real date with a real boy.
A goofy grin spread itself on my face as I walked confidently toward the door, stopping for a quick second to consider my options. Griffin was right, it was probably a bit too soon to start getting ready. But the excitement that coursed through my veins made it difficult to think of anything but ensuring the utmost perfection in my appearance tonight. I wanted it to be perfect, I wanted it to be memorable. But I needed to get a grip on myself.
I decided I should head to the garden. It would help me centre and focus so I didn’t get completely carried away with how I was feeling. I also needed to relax a bit, however excited I was for tonight I also knew it would be somewhat awkward if any of our previous exchanges alone was anything to go by.
Thinking strongly about my oasis I pushed the door open and stepped out into the soft, plush grass of the garden. I slipped my shoes off immediately, preferring the feeling of the grass between my toes rather than under soled foot and crossed over to the patch I had been working on as of late.
While everything was in full bloom and didn’t need any more tending, the garden seemed never ending. Whenever I needed a new space to work in the garden provided one. The flowers here never wilted or became sick, despite the obvious lack of sunshine. Maybe this was my power. I provided life to this quiet sanctuary. That was a thing, right?
I brushed my fingers along the soil, overturning it into my palm before sifting it back through my fingers. I lost myself quickly in the work, not bothering with tools and relying only on my fingers to dig. When I needed it, bulbs appeared. It always the right ones that I was thinking about. Only this time I wasn’t planting flowers. I wanted to try growing vegetables, then maybe herbs and fruits. If this were truly Eden these things would exist here too.
As always it didn’t take long for the garden to come alive, for the life to flow from some underground source of magic into my plants. The veggies began to sprout and blossom right in front of my eyes.
By the time I was working on the last row of the section the first was ready for picking. This was why I liked it here so much; it kept me busy and helped me relax. I was still excited about the date but I no longer felt like I was a piece of dynamite ready to explode. The plants constantly needed attention from me, they needed me and wanted me there. This was the first time I had ever felt those things toward me, even my own family had trouble acknowledging those things for me.
Brushing my hands off on my pants I finally stood. As much as the vegetables called to me to pick them I knew I could - as I had before – pass more time than I intended to here and reluctantly pulled myself away to head back to my apartment.
Working diligently on my garden had given me the chance to consider my attire for my date tonight. I wasn’t as well versed in fashion as Savannah was but I remembered a dress I had tried on the night before with her. She had said was much better suited for a less formal affair. Surely a party like tonight was the kind of thing she meant.
As I walked back to the door I pulled my braid out of it’s containers and worked my fingers through the loops, freeing the natural curls around my shoulders. I didn’t like to wear my hair down a lot, maybe a side effect of my upbringing, so there was something almost symbolic in my new interest in doing so.
I reached my bedroom, greeted immediately by the three-headed dog. I had forgotten completely that I was supposed to name him. Them. Which was it? I pet each head appropriately before moving past the beast and into my bedroom. He followed immediately, large tail swishing from one side and to the other, dangerously close to my lamp.
“What should I call you, hmm?” I looked over at him again, reaching out and letting my fingers curl through his fur with a small smile on my face.
“Rover? Clifford? Buddy?” If dogs had facial expressions this one was telling me exactly what he thought of those names. I laughed to myself and nodded, “yeah, you’re right. You need a more mythological name.” I was supposed to be getting ready but I decided it couldn’t hurt to have a quick look online to see what the Internet had to say about three headed
dogs. Pulling up a search engine I typed it in and waited for the browser to load.
The very first hit was for an encyclopaedia entry for a three headed dog in Greek mythology.
“Is this you boy?” I pointed to the photo on screen and knowingly the dog barked, making me smile. “Cerberus.” He barked again, lobbing over to my side and licking my hand. “A gigantic hound that guarded the gates of the Underworld. He protected ghosts from ever leaving the Underworld...” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Seems you’re more suited to be Griffin’s pet than mine, huh?” He snorted, nudging his head against my hand and I smiled. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on giving you away. I like having you here.”
I closed the screen and turned back to the closet, still smiling to myself. Simply thinking about Griffin was enough to set me into a happy mood as I imagined the dress I wanted for tonight. It had to be appropriate enough for dinner but suitable for a club party later. As I opened the closet door and pulled out a deep shimmering purple dress I knew it was perfect.
It wasn’t long after that when I finished getting ready. I still wasn’t used to trying on makeup so I settled for mascara, like Savannah had shown me, and a touch of lip-gloss before waiting restlessly at the door for Griffin to come. I wasn’t entirely sure if I was nervous or excited. I thought maybe it was a bit of both but the sensations that were warring inside of me were so unlike what I was used to.
It almost felt like a part of me didn’t want me to go on the date, as if somehow stepping out of the apartment would bring my doom. It was a silly frivolous thought considering nothing bad was going to happen with Griffin. He was trying to get better.
Turns out I was wrong.
Chapter Eleven
By the time Griffin knocked on the door I had managed to convince myself that it was merely excitement pitted in my stomach. After all, it was my first ever date. It made sense to be nervous but it made even more sense to be excited when this was something I had only ever dreamed of happening.
Gods Save the Princess (Grace of Gods Book 2) Page 10